04 May 2010

Manderson, WY and Medicine Lodge near Hyattville

A little over 50 miles north of Thermopolis on US-20 is the little town of Manderson. It is easy to miss because the bridge over the railway causes you to overlook it. According to the 2000 census, there were 104 people in the town and its outlying areas.

It has been extremely rare that I have been treated unkindly here in Wyoming. I include the following anecdote because of its unusual character.

Unbeknownst to me, when I took this shot, I must have alarmed the school staff. The vice principle called the deputy sheriff and then marched out to confront me. He said he was worried about the safety of the children under his care.

As a picture taking tourist, I am never prepared for this. I find it disconcerting, to say the least. Fortunately, the deputy's body language was enough to communicate to the vice principle that the action was premature.

Maybe the alarm is in some way a result of the 9-11 terrorist attack. Maybe it was simply due to my longer than normal grey hair and my beard. C'est la vie.

This is the fire department:

Some scenes along WY-31 on the way to Medicine Lodge:

Instead of taking a right into Hyattville, turn left onto Alkalai Road at the T-junction, and then take the first right onto Cold Springs Road. Follow that until you come to the sign below and turn left onto County Road 52. That will take you directly to Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site.

Across from the sign above is the scene below. Beautiful, isn't it?

This is a very nicely kept state park. There are clean and well-maintained picnic tables, camp spots, and bathrooms, and great parking. Here is a wading pool (next to the picnic tables) for the children to play in while you prepare a picnic meal for the family.

Then take a walk to the petroglyphs.

The following shots are of the remarkable beauty of the stone walls.

Because it was early in the season, we were the only ones there. So the information cabins were closed.

The sign below reads:

PETROGLYPHS and PICTOGRAPHS

Rock art at Medicine Lodge and throughout the Big Horn Basin falls into two categories—PETROGLYPHS which were pecked into the sandstone surfaces and PICTOGRAPHS that were painted onto the survaces. Human-like figures and animals were common motifs. The meaning of rock art is difficult to decipher, but most archaeologists agree that the drawings are symbolic and represent the complex mythological and religious concepts of the artists. The figure illustrated here is located above you on the cliffs and has probably been chalked at some point in time and appears bluish in color. This type of figure is known as a shield figure and appears to be carrying a lance. Such petroglyphs appear throughout Wyoming and may symbolize the importance of hunting to the prehistoric economy. Rock art is extremely difficult to date, but art at this particular site is probably no more than 1000 years old.

Petroglyphs and pictographs are a priceless legacy from the Indian people who inhabited this area in years gone by. The elements are gradually dimming these fragile drawings and vandalism such as the carving of initials, painting over the figures and even chalking to make the art more visible are leading to their destruction. PLEASE LET YOUR FOOTPRINTS BE THE ONLY SIGN OF YOUR VISIT!

Here is some of the vandalism mentioned above:

Click on the next four photographs to enlarge them and better see the details.